//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty-Eight: Nuclear Nightmares // Story: The Titans' Orb // by Mister Horncastle //------------------------------// Emerging from the building with a loud huff, I was now splattered from head to toe with dark reddish green blood. Every zomrad inside was now dead, but the carnage wasn’t over yet, for my screams from earlier had summoned plenty more of them. However, with adrenaline and ire now coursing through my veins, I had a whole new approach to this undead threat. These common zomrads were actually quite easy to deal with when isolated, it was only when they clustered together that I found myself in any real danger; and so the answer was awfully simple, I didn’t allow them to cluster together. Taking the fight to them, I ran from foe to foe and dispatched them without mercy, puncturing and pulverising them with blade and fist. There were a few close calls as the thicker bunches briefly overwhelmed me, but their greater numbers paled in strength to the vehement anger I now felt. It was a focused rage, a wrathful display of hatred for all who dared come between me and my duty to the girls. They were mine to protect, and our abrupt separation left me wholly consumed by a vicious drive to get back to them, and to destroy anything that stood in my path. By the time they stopped coming, I was caked in blood, and as I finished off the last of them, I gave up on any false pretences of decency or decorum. Brutally tearing my attackers asunder, I shamefully found myself enjoying it, revelling in the rush as I shattered and sliced the last of their skulls and throats. For as disgusting as I should have felt, I was mainly just full of pride. These bodies around me, now mutilated and lifeless, that was my doing, and it felt good. Without a shred of guilt, I had been free to unleash my rage, of which right now, I was brimming with. {Hey, lunatic.} said the voice in my head, {Focus, will you?} Blinking rapidly, I realised that I had succumbed to bloodlust. What the hell had got into me? This wasn’t something to feel good about, or proud of. Gulping, I gave my head a firm shake and tried to calm myself down. Getting a grip, I went and tore some fabric from the deceased and wiped away as much blood as possible, before fleeing from the site of the massacre. For as many as I had killed, at least a hundredfold more still roamed the streets, and I was no fool to think that I could handle them all. Now completely spent from the fighting, fatigue sapped at my strength, and I knew that I needed to find somewhere to hunker down for some rest, especially as the afternoon transitioned to nightfall. I desperately wanted to press on and find the girls first, but without knowing what kind of horrifying creatures might emerge from the woodwork at night, I was forced to turn in. Still, Twilight was as smart and resourceful as Rainbow Dash was agile and fearless; together they would be fine, and I needed to trust in that fact, and their ability to take care of themselves. Slipping into the least decrepit apartment block I could find, I searched it for life, and was thankful to find it totally abandoned. Heading up to a higher level, I selected an apartment and got to work barricading the door, blocking it with chairs and cabinets. The bed was far too rotten to sleep on, but with how exhausted I was at this point, the floor would serve me just as well. Using my rucksack as a pillow, I curled up in the corner and closed my eyes, listening carefully to the sounds around me. I heard a few zomrads shambling around outside, but thankfully they passed on quite quickly. I then heard a loud clatter in the distance, followed by a tremendous roar. My eyes shot open upon hearing it, and then I whispered to myself. “I don’t even want to know what that is…” {Well, with your luck, you’ll probably bump into it tomorrow.} my conscience teased. “I’d rather not.” I scoffed. With the voice choosing not to respond, I closed my eyes again and finally began to drift off, and with how exhausted I was, it wasn’t long before I was out for the count… Opening my eyes, I remained absolutely still. Hovering above me was another one of those tall, blind, clicking monstrosities. It lowered its head down to me and I held my breath, doing everything in my power to remain as lifeless as the zomrads I had killed. Its mandibles opened, exposing a pitch black mass of muscle that had clearly once been a tongue. Emerging from its clicking toothy cave, the tongue descended onto me for taste, snaking over my face like an inquisitive worm. Closing my eyes, I forced myself to do nothing, waiting patiently for it to back away. Eventually it did, leaving my face lathered in a snotty green ichor that reeked of death and decay. Try as I might to remain motionless, the smell was enough to bring forth a stifled gag, alerting the creature to my presence. Twitching violently, it realised that I was alive, but before it could go in for the kill, a large blade pierced its head from behind, skewering it completely and bursting out from its bony faceplate. Frozen with both awe and terror, I stared with wide eyes as the limp creature was cast aside, and in its place came forth a man, clad from head to toe in strange armour, and wielding a curved longsword. It was like something from a science fiction film, for the futuristic armour was a dark chromatic purple, and his helmet had very little discrepancy from a Spartan’s from the Halo games. More shocking than this, however, were the countless white feathers that swayed just behind him. This mysterious armoured man had a pair of wings. “Uh… th-thanks…” I stammered, wiping the mucus from my face. Slowly tilting his head, the man inserted the bloodstained sword into a slot at his hip, and to my amazement, the entire blade disappeared inside it, leaving just the handle. He then stared at me for a moment through his glowing lilac visor, and then at last he spoke. “Your visit to Pripyat hasn’t been going well, has it, Callum Horncastle?” His accent was English, although it was hard to distinguish, for his voice was tinny and robotic, obscured by the filter in his helmet. With my eyes widening at his words, I quickly got to my feet and pointed at him. “How do you know my name?” “I know many things.” he replied, “I know where you’ve been, and I know where you’re going. I also know where your friends are hiding.” “Where?” I demanded. “South of here.” he answered, “They’ve taken shelter in the nearby train station. You’ll find them in the furthest carriage to the east, a little way down the line.” “Okay.” I said with a gulp, “I’ll head there now.” “No, you will not.” he replied, lifting his chin slightly, “The moon still hangs high, and within its pale light dwells an adversary beyond your ability to reckon with. It is unlike the malformed ilk you have faced thus far, its transition is… greater than one might expect.” “Transition?” I echoed, “What’s really happening here?” “Your premonition was correct.” he explained, “The radiation has combined with a substance from the fragment you seek. A residue, left by the sinister form of magic used to shatter the Titans’ Orb and send it to this realm. The afflicted within this city, they were never killed, you see. They have been both preserved and destroyed by this substance, forced to live on the brink of death for the remainder of their pitiful existence. But amongst them, as with the misshapen monsters you have seen, there are some who have changed, who have transcended their past forms. There is one who would call herself queen of this place, a malevolent entity that hunts only in the dark of night. You would do well to avoid her.” “Noted…” I muttered, before looking at him with a frown, “Wait a minute, my premonition? What, so you can read minds as well then, huh?” Dipping his head to confirm that he could, he gave a resoundingly cryptic verbal answer. “There is much I am capable of, and much, I am not…” With a frown, I boldly took a step towards him and briefly clenched my jaw. “Who are you?” To this, I noticed his wings flex ever so slightly. Was he startled by this query? Perhaps unnerved by my approach? Had he found my demand entertaining, or perturbing? Maybe he had felt nothing at all, and had simply needed to give his feathered limbs a small stretch. It was so hard to gauge him, for his body language told me nothing, nor did his monotone voice, devoid of all emotion. “You needn’t know who I am.” he told me, “All you need to know is that I am your friend.” At such an answer, I reluctantly hung my head. For as much as curiosity gnawed at my bones, I was in far too much shock and reverence to question this mysterious visitor. Still, in an attempt to gain at least some knowledge, I asked about the supposed ‘sinister magic’ that had been used to break the Titans’ Orb, along with asking who had been responsible for it, and why. “Speak with Twilight on this matter.” he instructed, “She knows far more than she’s letting on.” “How do you know that?” I asked. “As I said, I know a great manner of things.” With that, he turned away from me and started to walk away. I begged for him to tell me more, only for him to remain silent. As he reached the doorway however, he paused, and made one final statement. “Steel your mind, Callum Horncastle. Your path is one of many foes, of which some will require more than the brawn of your flesh to contend with. I will be watching overhead, and will aid you when I may.” He left the room and took a right turn, disappearing out of sight. And then, in a sudden instance, dozens of screaming zomrads poured in through the doorway. They swarmed around me and pulled me to the ground, my arms and legs were held down, and I could feel them scratching and biting at me, shredding me to pieces with tooth and nail. One of them then pounced on top of me, straddling me and staring into my eyes, and that was when I recognised his face. “Hey motherfucker, did you miss me?” It was Inigo Montenegro, the Bogeyman of Brazil. His belly was still gushing with blood from the mortal blow I had given him, and his eyes were gleaming with madness and disdain. Frozen like a deer in the headlights, all I could do was stare at him in disbelief while my body was ripped apart by the others. And then with a wicked smile, Inigo punched downward with his bare hand, puncturing my chest. I felt his hand push deeper and deeper into me, until at last his fingers wrapped around my heart, and with all the malice in the world, he squeezed as tightly as he could. I tried to scream, but the only thing to emerge from me was silence. As my former captor slowly pulled the beating organ from my body, he let out a low chuckle. He then blinked slowly at me, before gorging himself, stuffing as much of the heart as he could into his mouth. Everything went blurry and numb, and as the darkness crept in to engulf my reality, the last thing I heard was Inigo laughing, followed by his echoing voice. “Oh, my little hermano… you have no idea how fucked you are…” My eyes flared wide open, and with a loud gasp I sat bolt upright and clasped at my chest, patting and clawing at it desperately to check that my heart was still there. Needless to say, it was, and vigorously thumping in tandem with the panic that coursed through me. I looked all around for zomrads, but thankfully there were none, and in the low light I found the door to the apartment still barricaded. With a deep sigh, I flopped back down and tutted. {Just a stupid nightmare…} I thought to myself. {Well…} hummed the voice in my mind, {I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was just a nightmare. That winged fellow seemed rather prophetic if you ask me.} “That’s true…” I muttered aloud, “How do we test that?” To this, the voice scoffed and said that it was obvious. Rolling my eyes, it then clicked for me as well, and I dug into my pocket to check the map. The stranger had mentioned the girls hiding in a train station to the south, which was something I would have had absolutely no way of knowing; if the station was there, then the voice was right, it had been more than just a nightmare. Zooming in on my location and swiping upward, I was greeted by none-other than the Yaniv Train Station. “Well I’ll be…” I murmured. It was no simple nightmare; just as Princess Luna could visit the dreams of her subjects, I had been visited by someone. As for who he was, I had no idea. Recalling his claim to be ‘watching overhead’, I realised that this must have been the mysterious gunman, shooting the undead from the rooftops and aiding our previous escapes. The dark futuristic armour, the wings… who the bloody hell was he? Judging from his ability to read my mind, and his nonchalant awareness of the ponies, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was Luna herself. Had the Princess of the Night come to help us? No, that couldn’t be it… Shaking my head, I racked my brains in search of an answer, but all that came to me were more questions. It was still dark outside, but with another glance at my phone, I found the time to be a little way past five o’clock in the morning, not long before daylight would begin to grace this accursed city. There was no use in trying to get more sleep now, I would only toss and turn in worry over the girls’ safety. While I waited for the sky to brighten a little more, I decided to tuck into a tin of ravioli. Taking it from my backpack and opening it with the ring-pull, I ate straight from the can, pouring it into my mouth to avoid using my hands, of which were still thinly tarnished with dark blood. After that, I dismantled the barricade and left the apartment. Heading down the stairs, I found a zomrad on the ground floor that had wandered in during the night, of which I quickly dispatched with a blow to the back of the head. I then stepped outside and took an inward breath through my nose, regretting it almost immediately as the tainted air carried the stench of death. Stifling a cough, I took one last look at my phone to know which way was south, and then took off. Just as before, I pushed along the outsides of the roads, sticking to the treeline to reduce my profile. Still wary of the supposed ‘queen mutant’ that hunted in the dark, I went as slowly and quietly as possible, not wanting to find myself contending with her. Along the way, I encountered a fight between a cluster of zomrads and a pair of the tall clicking mutants, and despite being vastly outnumbered, they quite easily held their own, towering above their attackers and skewering them one by one. It was a horrifying marvel to witness, but knowing that I needed to find the girls, I didn’t stick around to see who won. I pressed on, and just as the dawn truly broke, I reached the train station. “Oh jeez…” I murmured. Before me, littering both the building and the surrounding tracks, were zomrads aplenty. The girls must have been chased here, and taken refuge inside one of the train carriages to get away. If that’s what had happened, then I could only imagine how terrified they must have been all night. Gulping, I prepared myself for another gruesome battle. “Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a sword…” I sighed. From within my mind, the voice emitted a small chuckle. I then focused, and formulated a game plan. With most of the zomrads being on the ground again, returned to their idle state, my best option was to take the slow approach. If I were to stealthily kill as many of them as possible, I would be able to thin out their numbers before launching a full-scale onslaught. As carefully as I could, I tiptoed all around the outskirts of the station, planting Krocsbane into the necks and skulls of every zed I could get in striking distance of. The plan went down a treat, and as my kill count racked up to around thirty, the afflicted scourge became less and less of a threat. {Just do me a favour and don’t get bloodlust like you did yesterday.} the voice said mockingly. “I don’t plan on it.” I grumbled, yanking the knife from the base of a zomrad’s skull. With the majority of them now dead, I grew more confident about my odds, and started closing in on the furthest carriage on the tracks. The girls were in there alright, for it had been barricaded from the inside. The windows were covered in sheets of metal, which had been crudely twisted and bent to stay in place, likely by Twilight’s magic. Most of the carriage itself had been crushed inwards as well, most likely to tighten all the gaps and to prevent the doors from opening. The telekinetic strength required to crush a whole train car would have cost every ounce of mana Twilight had; she must have been in a hurry to seal herself and Rainbow Dash inside. They had likely been chased here, and didn’t have the time for any alternative. Then I saw it… All along the carriage, were sets of gargantuan claw marks. Something had tried to get inside, something big. Then I realised that most of the zomrads surrounding the carriage hadn’t simply returned to their inactive state, they had been killed, and judging from their disembowelled and limbless remains, I didn’t think the girls were responsible for it. Gulping, the harrowing thought crossed my mind. Did these marks belong to the creature mentioned by the stranger? Had Twilight and Rainbow Dash been pursued by the night-stalking mutant queen? It would certainly allow for the state of the carriage to make more sense. As my footsteps crunched on the gravel, the few zeds to survive the onslaught got to their feet. Being only eleven strong, I wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, and gave them a confident smirk and narrowed my eyes as they turned to look at me. “Morning.” I spoke in a low, bassy tone. Growling and hissing, they charged, and I ran forward to meet them. Slamming my fist into the first one’s face, I knocked it to the ground with ease, before shoulder ramming another, flinging it away. I then twisted around to meet the third, jamming Krocsbane into the side of its head. Quickly tugging it out, I slashed at another, catching it in the throat. I killed three more, before the one I had shoulder rammed caught me off-guard, having got back up and pounced on me from behind. In a bid to get it off, I backed up against the train carriage and threw myself at it. As it was squashed between me and the metal, the zomrad’s brittle spine cracked, causing it to release me and collapse to the ground. From inside, I heard a loud shriek of panic from Twilight, spooked by the sudden impact against her hiding place. “Is it back!?” she cried out. “How the heck should I know?” Rainbow barked in reply. Unable to eavesdrop for long, the fight continued, and I sprang forward into the remaining zomrads, punching, slashing, stabbing, and kicking them to their belated demise. It may have taken nearly thirty years, but they now finally had their peace, and after my visitation from the stranger last night, I felt more humble for delivering it. Yesterday’s violence had felt good for the sake of unleashing my anger, but today, I felt good for another reason; I had liberated these souls from their unholy shackles. Whatever came next after death, it was better than what had happened to these people, and I held no shame in admitting that I was proud to have set them free. Turning my attention to the carriage, I went over to it and listened carefully. Inside, I could hear the girls whispering to each other, and a hoof anxiously tapping in patterns of four. “Are they gone?” I heard Twilight ask. “Dude, again, how am I supposed to know?” Dashie clapped back, “You blocked every window!” “Find a gap or something then!” Grinning, I decided to give them a little scare, and began to grunt and growl at the nearest window. They immediately went silent, hoping that they would be left alone, only for me to start lightly pawing at the carriage. “Raahh!” I growled playfully, “I’m a zombie! I have come to feast upon your pony flesh!” And then, with the sassiest demeanour I could muster, I put on a lisp and fussed over my fingernails, speaking in a nasally camp voice. “But like… only the juicy bits, you know? Because you girls are quite… how do I say this? Gamey…” There was a moment of silence, before Rainbow Dash cried out my name upon realising it was me. Using her front hooves to punch out one of the metal sheets from a window, the pegasus stuck her head out and stared at me with her mouth agape. She then broke into a wide, open-mouthed smile, and being completely unable to contain her joy, she clambered out and leapt into my arms, totally unfazed by the blood all over me. “Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!” she blurted out, hugging me tightly, “I thought you were a goner! How the heck did you get out of that place? There were so many of them! Were you able to climb out too or something? Shit dude, you totally could have been zombie bones!” “Could’ve been, but I’m not.” I replied, hugging her back. Putting her down, I explained that I had very simply fought my way out, leaving Rainbow in a state of utter amazement. She asked how I had been able to handle so many, to which I shrugged. “Honestly, I kind of just saw red, you know?” I admitted with a shrug, “After you two escaped, I just thought about how much danger you’d be in without me, and then I kinda flipped out. All I wanted was to get back to you both, and nothing was going to stand in my way.” “Flattered.” Twilight grumbled, clambering out of the window to join us. Making her approach, the unicorn looked me up and down, and just as I was expecting some lowly comment about the state of me, all she had to say was that it was good to see me alive. Raising my brow in surprise, I felt an unexpected wave of comfort from the mare. “You too.” I breathed, before pointing to the train carriage, “Looks like you nearly weren’t. What the hell happened?” Hanging her head and giving it a solemn shake, Twilight couldn’t even bring herself to describe it to me. Ceding the story to Rainbow Dash, she allowed the pegasus to explain. “Okay, so when we ran off, we got chased by a whole bunch of those things. They straight up chased us all the way here! But dude, something way bigger came along. It was like something out of the Everfree Forest, it was a freakin’ monster!” {That sounds like the ‘queen’ alright…} I thought. {Yeah, no kidding…} the voice agreed. Dashie went on, describing the creature to be nearly twice my height, with a set of enormous claws, easily as long as my wrists. A dark green in colour, the beast supposedly had a long toothy snout, and numerous black horns that curled in many a direction. All and any semblance of humanity was lacking from the description, and as Rainbow delineated as to how it tore through zomrads like they were mere playthings, I came to one very easy conclusion; the girls had indeed met the mutant queen. Apparently, the zomrads had attacked it, giving the girls just enough time to reach the carriage and clamber aboard, followed by Twilight sealing them both inside. Just as I presumed, the unicorn had stripped the metal on the inside to cover the windows, followed by crushing their capsule with telekinesis to prevent the doors from opening. It had taken all the mana she could muster, and with a grim, nauseated expression, Twilight professed that once again, she had blued out. “Oh shit…” I murmured. “It’s not as bad as last time.” she admitted with a grumble, “But we’ll still be without magic for a couple of days.” Even with such a claim, the unicorn looked dreadful. Her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, and were surrounded by dark circles. With how poorly she looked, I couldn’t help but recall just how badly bluing out had affected her in Brazil. I was hit by a wave of empathy, and I gave the mare a weak smile, letting her know that in spite of our differences and occasional distaste for one another, I was there for her. With a brief nod of acknowledgement, she suggested that we got moving. We followed the tracks as they led straight to the power plant, and along the way, I told the girls about the visitor. They didn’t quite believe me at first, but the fact I knew where to find them was enough evidence to know I was telling the truth. Dashie was simply dumbfounded, while Twilight on the other hand quickly got to work in trying to figure out who the winged stranger was. Just as I had, she briefly theorised that it was Princess Luna’s work, but the idea was quickly dismissed. If one of the royal sisters had come here, they surely would have presented themselves in person, as opposed to speaking to me and only me by way of visiting my dreams. We both agreed that the unseen gunman was almost certainly behind this, but until he chose to reveal himself again, we simply didn’t have any information to go on. It wasn’t long before we were finally out of the city, and up ahead lay the Chernobyl power plant. The fog was even thicker here than in the city, and it carried a faint greenish tint to it. As we grew closer, we stumbled upon more zomrads, but unlike the ravenous type that dwelled in Pripyat, these ones had become so heavily decayed that they could no longer exert themselves, for there was barely a shred of muscle on them. Most of them had lost all of their senses, with their eyes, noses, and ears all rotted away. The poor things lay hither and thither in crooked heaps, moaning pathetically to themselves as they awaited the end of the world. “This is… horrible.” Rainbow Dash croaked, barely able to look at them. “I know…” I agreed, looking around, “The stuff that did this to them, it’s stronger here.” “I can sense it.” said Twilight, “Even without my magic, I can feel it…” Turning to look at her, I asked what she meant, to which she clenched her jaw and elaborated. “It’s like a breeze.” she whimpered, closing her eyes, “A cold, dark feeling, washing over me. It’s bitter, and violent, and… I know what it wants.” Gesturing for her to go on, she looked as though she was about to cry, and with a gulp, she finished. “It wants to feed.” Staring at her with dread, a shiver went down my spine. And then, without warning, a noise from behind caused all three of us to jump, and we whipped around to face it. It was a zomrad, so thin that its bones could be seen through its saggy greyed skin. It staggered towards us at a snail’s pace, lacking its lower jaw and only possessing one outstretched arm; the other had evidently fallen off at some point. {Think we should lend him a hand?} my conscience suggested with a light chuckle. {Dude… not cool.} I thought back distastefully. Sighing, I chose to put the wretched thing out of its misery, walking over to the poor soul and giving it a gentle push. It fell over without a shred of resistance and just lay there, gurgling quietly. Kneeling down, I gritted my teeth and stuck it with the knife, to which it slowly closed its eyes. Exhaling heavily out of my nose, I dipped my head to it as it drew its final breath. “Be at peace.” I murmured. Getting back up, I noticed that the girls were staring at me solemnly. “I don’t think that one was trying to attack us.” said Twilight as she looked down at her hooves, “I think it wanted you to do that.” “I think so too.” I breathed, “Come on, let’s go.” We pressed on, and eventually we made it to the true origin of this unholy scourge. The Chernobyl power plant. “Damn…” Rainbow uttered, “That building is huge!” “That’s the sarcophagus.” I explained, “That’s where the reactor is, and where the Orb shard will be.” “We’re going in there?” she blurted out, “But… what if there are like… crazy mutants and stuff!?” “Then we kill them.” I replied dryly, “Don’t tell me that the fearless Rainbow Dash has lost her nerve?” Shaking her head, Dashie insisted that she wasn’t scared, and with an almost comically loud gulp, she followed me as I entered the facility. Unsurprisingly, the whole place was surrounded by security fences, but by sticking to the train tracks, we found a nice easy way in. There were a few more zomrads to dispose of, but they were all just as feeble as the last one, and it wasn’t long before we reached the front of the sarcophagus. It was completely blocked off, smothered in vegetation and rusty debris. “Now what?” said Dashie. “We’ll have to try the back door.” I hummed with a furrowed brow. “That’s a little forward.” she scoffed, “Take me on a date first, dude.” My mouth fell open, before I clamped my eyes shut and burst into a flabbergasted laugh. Twilight then gasped upon realising what Rainbow meant, and gave the pegasus a shove that was hard enough to send her staggering away. The unicorn then marched away, throwing her head from side to side in revulsion. “Ugh, disgusting!” she howled, “Disgusting! Disgusting! Disgusting!” Rainbow Dash roared with laughter, and merrily trotted along after her, pleased to have evoked such a reaction. Still in disbelief, I trilled my lips and shook my head, before taking off after them. Circling around to the back of the building, we found a door that would take us inside. The only issue was that it was locked, but thankfully the inner bolt had corroded enough for me to break with a few well-placed shoulder barges. As the final ram sent the door bursting open, a thick cloud of fog billowed out, and it was potent enough to burn our throats and noses, causing all three of us to cough and splutter. It was so strong in fact, that I was able to perceive something beyond the acrid smell; it was as Twilight had described it, a sharp sense of malice, burning like hellfire, yet colder than ice. A voiceless command rippled through it, an order to consume every living thing. If I could feel it now, despite being a human without a shred of magical attunement, then I could only imagine how Twilight was feeling. “You okay, dude?” asked Rainbow. Realising that my fists were clenched in anger, I quickly released them and confirmed that I was fine. Whatever this stuff was, I didn’t think Twilight’s Blightward spell was fully blocking it out, and so I decided to pick up the pace and spend as little time here as possible. With the inside being awfully dark, I took my hand torch out from my rucksack and switched it on, casting a beam of light into the mist. “Ladies first?” I playfully suggested with an anxious grin. “Not a chance.” Twilight retorted, almost smiling. “I’m pretty sure he was just being rhetorical.” Dashie pointed out. “Ooh, that’s a big word for you!” I teased. “Oh shut up!” She strutted by me and whipped me with her tail, to which I huffed loudly with amusement. I then switched on the torch and stepped inside. It was totally silent, without a creature to be seen. The fog was thickest at my feet, as though it carried a density to it, and was fighting to stay afloat. “I have a bad feeling about this…” I whispered, mainly to myself. {Alright Obi-Wan, chill out.} my conscience quipped. {Shut it.} I clapped back in thought, rolling my eyes. As we navigated the building, we came across a semicircular room filled with consoles and dials. This must have been the room that controlled the reactor, meaning the heart of the disaster was just behind it. Nervously grinding my teeth, I moved on and found a corridor. At the end was a set of double doors, and upon opening them, I was met by a breathtaking sight. “Whoa…” Dashie breathed beside me. We were now truly inside the sarcophagus, an almighty tomb of metal and concrete that went up by at least eighty metres. There were a handful of breaks in the roof, allowing daylight to pour in and ominously illuminate the place, so much so that I could turn off the torch and stash it in my pocket. Directly in the middle was the reactor, or at least, what was left of it. There was an enormous cluster of rusty metal debris halfway sunken into the floor, which was surrounded by even more crudely erected concrete walls; there had clearly been a very desperate attempt to contain this place. Amidst the green and white mist, I noticed a fair amount of the metal was faintly glistening, wet with heavy condensation. “It’s very warm in here.” Twilight pointed out with a concerned frown. Humming, I speculated that it was likely because of Elephant’s Foot. “What’s that?” she asked. “It’s a large mass of radioactive slag, left over by the disaster.” I explained, “It’s made of corium and some other stuff. It was basically like lava during the meltdown, spilling out all over the place and burning at extreme temperatures.” Nodding, Twilight guessed that the Orb was probably inside it, which I reluctantly had to agree. We started to step forward, only for Rainbow Dash to emit a noise of absolute revulsion. “Eww!” she squealed, “What did I just step in?” Looking down, I realised that she had planted her hoof into some sort of murky slime. Before we could investigate further, we were all startled by a loud clattering sound, followed by the high-pitched squeal of metal being forced apart. “Um, what the heck is that?” Twilight mewled, her eyes wide with fear. Unsure of what to say, I remained perfectly still and watched in absolute horror as the ground began to tremble, and a deep, bassy, gurgling hum resonated through the air. The reactor’s remnants then began to shift and stir, and as pieces fell away, something inside began to reveal itself. Several thick tentacle-like limbs burst free, followed by the rest of its body. It rose up and towered above us, and embedded in the middle of the indescribable mass was a pulsating bluish green chunk of crystal; the Orb shard. Acquiring it would prove quite the task however, especially without Twilight’s magic, and as the rest of the reactor fell away, I realised exactly what this thing was. It was Elephant’s Foot. And it was alive…